Marble Drop

My award-winning “Marble Drop” animation is an indulgence in all the tactile phenomena that we find to be oddly satisfying. I set out to capture the smooth motion and perfect collisions of expertly tuned marble runs and Rube Goldberg machines, using two-dimensional animation to create a perfectly seamless loop. My goal was to elicit a deep, universal reaction from the viewer, immersing them in the animation and scratching a certain itch that compels them to follow the loop again and again.

Unconventional Physics:

Hand-drawn marble trajectory path in Adobe After Effects.

Animating the countless physical collisions between different objects was by far my greatest undertaking in this animation. I spent hours researching the best way to simulate marble’s motion and planning the scene’s contents around my limitations. I investigated physics simulation plugins within After Effects, tested the most efficient ways to control motion paths in the software, and even considered learning a physics-based animation software like Blender for this project. In the end, my search for the optimal animation approach faced two major roadblocks—time and money—both of which I had limited freedom with.

I eventually decided that my best bet was to animate every physics interaction by hand. It was a decision that would pose many challenges, but it kept me from having to experiment with unfamiliar and potentially expensive softwares/plugins. This process was a lengthy sequence of trial and error. It required me to trust my gut, making subtle adjustments until every collision, rebound, acceleration, and rotation felt just right. This isn’t simply a trajectory estimation for the marble; Every object in this scene was modeled and animated by hand. I had to decide how the wheel would spin under the marble’s weight, and how long it would keep rotating after it drops the marble onto the track below. I had to determine how heavy and bouncy the ball would feel when the marble lands on top of it and when it plunges into the raised end of the seesaw. Careful decisions were made every time two objects interacted. It wasn’t enough to calculate simple elastic collisions. To be truly satisfying, every interaction needed a sense of tension and release. The audience would need to feel the weight and the texture of every material as they transfer kinetic energy with realistic resistance and inertia. The sequence is a carefully orchestrated dance that feels natural even without the help of a physics algorithm.

As the hours spent on this project racked up, I felt myself becoming completely engrossed in this animation. I had a constant desire for more: more objects, more collisions, more textures. In the end, my stopping point was determined purely by hardware limitations. As much as I wanted to continue adding details, I reached an impasse where my PC could no longer manage the After Effects project file, even with the most optimized settings. With time running short and every addition becoming a greater battle for my limited resources, I decided it was time to stop animating and finally move on to sound design.

Sound Design:

Sound effect layers in Adobe Premiere Pro

I always knew sound design would play a major role in this project. Without the proper immersive audio, the animation would feel hollow and lifeless. I had originally considered recording my own foley sound effects to perfectly synchronize audio with the on-screen motion. However, after my many animation ambitions and challenges, I was left with less than a day to complete the project and no immediate access to a recording space. Thus, I was forced to take a more remote and time-efficient approach. All sound effects used in this sequence were downloaded from free audio licensing services. That came with the implicit challenge of taking audio files recorded with different equipment at wildly variable quality levels and making them sound like they all exist in the same space. I put in painstaking effort processing every individual audio file, making cuts and adjustments to turn general-purpose sound effects into audio that sounds like it only ever belonged in this animation. Many sounds were blended with others to create something unique and unrecognizable from their core components. Despite tense restrictions, I turned a library of amateur foley recordings from across the internet into a cohesive, deeply immersive soundscape. When presented to my class, everybody assumed that I must have recorded my own audio for this piece.

Awards:

“Marble Drop” was submitted for consideration in multiple Illinois art competitions. I was awarded a silver ADDY for sound design in the 2024 Southern Illinois American Advertising Awards.

Additionally, “Marble Drop”, along with several of my other animations, was submitted to Millikin University’s Images in Motion film festival. Awards for the event were selected by guest judge Peter Hawley, director of the Illinois Film Office. “Marble Drop” won Best Motion Graphics, along with the coveted Best in Show award. Hawley specifically noted how my intricate sound design brought the scene to life and made the animation stand above the rest of the competition. I was recognized as the first (and currently only) animator to win Best in Show at Images in Motion, breaking established boundaries of what great filmmaking can look like.

One year after Images in Motion 2024, my animation and its unprecedented victory would be credited as one of five outstanding life achievements that helped earn me the Scovill Award—Millikin University’s most prestigious and exclusive honor.

Overall, this project was a massive success. To have my work recognized as some of Millikin University’s best, especially so early in my career, is an accomplishment I take immense pride in. But this is already far from my proudest achievement. I’m always striving to improve, and I grow more ambitious with every victory. Best in Show was an incredible stepping stone, but I know I have so much more of my best to share with the world moving forward.